A tribute to marriage coming from a bachelor is a tad suspicious. But for Beethoven the idealization of the woman-bride was heartfelt and sincere. It has always been a unique opera starring a courageous wife who wows audiences. Fidelio is a moral title, associated with the ideals of liberty of the French Enlightenment. Nobility and commoners are united in their thirst for justice against the oppression of power. For once the faithful consort of a desaparecido wins her battle against a treacherous tyrant, and the collective joy truly is “nameless”, as is sung on the stage. Especially because the “our heroes to the rescue” finale is recounted by the triumphant symphonic flair of the quintessential musician. Beethoven really does bring the world to collapse at the conclusion of this opera, which begins like a delightful little comedy, but which scales and transcends all the summits of the dramatic-musical art.
Christian Thielemann conducts the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra in this production of Wagner's opera r...
High Definition recording June 2014, Arena di Verona. This opulent production was directed by Franc...
Elizabeth of Valois is promised in marriage to Don Carlos of Spain, as part of a peace treaty betwee...
A staging of Britten's opera filmed at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in June 2008.
Beethoven's opera Fidelio, conducted by Karl Böhm, featuring Gwyneth Jones as Leonore and James King...
This recording of the opera Ariane et Barbe-Bleue by Paul Dukas was staged at the Liceu in Barcelona...
A one-off production of Boris Godunov was staged by Andrei Konchalovsky at the Teatro Regio in Torin...
A superb adaptation of Purcell's the Indian Queen, staged and directed by Peter Sellars and performe...
Magic opera, Singspiel, a comedy with spectacular stage effects, Masonic ritual with Egyptian myster...
Translucence, transparency – warmth’ are the qualities identified by Bernard Haitink as necessary fo...
Claus Guth's exciting 2017 staging of Handel’s "Rodelinda" at Madrid’s Teatro Real, featuring Lucy C...
First seen at La Monnaie in Brussels on 13 May 1998, this production of Monteverdi’s L’ORFEO seen th...
This elegant romance is the least-known work of the mature Giacomo Puccini . The story concerns a ke...
The sensational hit of Salzburg's 2008 festival season arrives on DVD! Starring tenor Rolando Villaz...
While best known today for having composed the ending to Puccini's unfinished Turandot, Franco Alfan...
Main hero is a singing boat refugee – orange boy Maroc. He dreams about freedom. Lemon girl Lisa col...
Anew production of Tannhäuser, which was premiered on 26 July 2019 and presented the Bayreuth debut ...